and the president of the council on foreign relations, author of "foreign policy begins at home: the case for putting america's house in order." and in washington, vice president and executive editor of msnbc.com and msnbc political analyst, richard wolffe. a minor round of applause for richard wolffe. >> one hand clapping. >> first of all, can anybody here come up with a synonym -- i don't care what it is -- so we don't have to employ the phrase "fiscal cliff" at all during the day? any ideas? anybody got any -- >> how about deadline? >> how about do your job. how about just do your job time. it is ridiculous. a little news, then we'll chatter about this. as if tax hikes and spending cuts weren't enough, there's a new reminder that the nation's debt ceiling is also hanging over the budget talks in washington. in a letter to congress yesterday, treasury secretary timothy geithner warned the government would hit its legal borrow i borrowing limit i limit by monday. geithner says the treasury will be forced to take, quote, extraordinary measures to keep paying the bills. he also refere